Film king Leonard Ho dies of heart attack
Movie mogul Leonard Ho Kwong-cheong, part of the team that discovered Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, died of a heart attack yesterday aged 72.
Ho co-founded Golden Harvest with Raymond Chow Ting-hsing in 1970 using savings and money borrowed from relatives.
The team tasted success with its first film, The Big Boss, in 1972, which launched Lee's career.
The $386,500 film returned about 500 times its investment, one of the highest returns in the history of movie-making.
In the mid-70s the team discovered young kung fu maestro Jackie Chan.
Ho studied at the Chinese Institute of Journalism in Shanghai and produced more than 500 films during his career.
He headed the production team at the Shaw Brothers' studio for 11 years prior to forming rival Golden Harvest.
Mr Chow said the death of Ho, the company president and an active charity supporter, was a tremendous shock.
'His enormous contribution to the Hong Kong film industry and to the community has made a mark that will not be forgotten,' Mr Chow said.
San Francisco had chosen February 20 as 'Leonard Ho Day' in recognition of his work.
He is survived by his wife Sheila and daughter Sharon.
